Leclerc defends holding Mexico Grand Prix lead after Turn 5 track-limits cut

Charles Leclerc has set out his reasoning for keeping the lead of the Mexico Grand Prix after cutting Turn 5, a move that earned him a five-second penalty and left Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton furious, according to Yahoo Sports.

Hamilton, who started on pole, held off an early challenge from Leclerc through the opening sequence of corners before the Monegasque went around the outside at Turn 4. Both cars ran deep at the apex and ended up off the circuit entirely.

Hamilton rejoined the track but dropped behind Max Verstappen in the process, while Leclerc cut across Turn 5 and emerged still in front. Having gained ground by exceeding track limits, he faced an expectation to let Hamilton back through, but doing so would also have meant conceding the place to the Red Bull.

Leclerc chose to stay ahead of both rivals and absorbed the five-second penalty that followed. "Lewis and I both tried to brake very late, we both didn't make the corner, I obviously cut the track," he said, adding that Verstappen's presence between the Ferraris added to the confusion.

"I asked 'What should I do now?' It's always very tricky – obviously in that situation you have to do something, but is it second, is it third? At the end I kept going," Leclerc explained, admitting he expected to be penalised and that the episode would be "a bit of a talking point" at the next drivers' briefing.

Hamilton was scathing over the radio to race engineer Carlo Santi during the race. "The problem is he's got clean air, and doesn't have to manage like the rest of us. He should just give the place back," he said, before adding: "The stewards are basically handing Charles this win."

Asked about the rules of engagement between the Ferrari drivers, Leclerc played down suggestions of a deeper rift. "We are fighting for the win, so of course there's going to be very little margin left from him and from me," he said, pointing out that neither car made contact at Turn 4 and that both drivers had made mistakes there.

He suggested the bigger issue for Hamilton may not have been the overtake itself but how the stewards handled the Turn 4-5 incident. "I don't know if he was very unhappy with what I did because I felt like it was very much on the limit also what he did," Leclerc said, adding that the pair would discuss the situation.

With the penalty hanging over him, Leclerc tried to build a cushion over Verstappen, extending the gap to 5.243 seconds by the end of lap 24. Verstappen trimmed a few tenths back before both cars pitted together, but Leclerc's stop ran 6.3 seconds longer than the Red Bull's — 1.3 seconds more than the penalty alone accounted for — handing Verstappen a comfortable route into the lead.

Leclerc's afternoon deteriorated further at the second start, triggered by a red flag for Valtteri Bottas' crash. A heavy lock-up damaged his tyres, particularly the front-left, undermining the pace he had shown earlier in the race.

The flashpoint leaves Ferrari with an internal conversation still to have over how its drivers are managed when fighting for a win, a discussion Leclerc himself acknowledged was overdue before the teams reconvene.